The European Union as a Global Actor

This summer’s IAS course on “The European Union as a Global Actor” will be a terrific opportunity for students to join classroom study with a direct encounter with their object of study.  The course is made possible through a generous “Getting to Know Europe” grant from the European Commission.  The grant will cover the costs of airfare and accommodations for 18 OU students.  In addition, the class will be joined by two local high school student winners of an essay competition on Transatlantic relations, along with their teachers.  The essay competition also is sponsored by the grant. 

A wonderful aspect of the grant is that it opens a valuable study abroad opportunity for all students, including those with an intense interest that might not otherwise have the resources to travel abroad.  Nearly 60 students have applied for inclusion in the class; I very much hope that it will be possible to offer the course again in the near future so that some of those turned away this time will have the opportunity to participate.

The course will include three weeks of traditional classroom study on the Norman campus, covering such topics as the historical development of the European integration project and the global role of the EU in diplomacy, development, and humanitarian assistance.  During the final week of the course, we will visit the European Commission and European Parliament, and we also will travel to Luxembourg to visit the European Court of Justice.  The students will meet and hear from important speakers at each of these institutions.

In my own study of the European Union during the past 15 years, I’ve consistently found that visiting the institutions in Brussels and talking with EU officials heightens my appreciation for the project of European integration and enriches my understanding of how the EU’s complex institutional apparatus operates.  I’ve always tried to convey the essence and subtleties of this system to students in the classroom, but there is absolutely no substitute for this sort of direct, hands-on experience.

Mitchell P. Smith
Associate Professor of International and Area Studies
Co-Director, European Union Center